"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution."-Paul Cezanne, Artist

The refrigerator light goes on...

The great thing about lentils is that you can make a quick stew like this one. It's simple, delicious and great for you, but best of all there's only one pot to clean up. Look for sausage that contains about 300 mg sodium for a 1 1/2 to 2 ounce serving. For this recipe I used Applegate Farms Classic Pork breakfast sausage.

Lentils

Lentils are legumes like peas, garbanzos and peanuts. They are mostly carbohydrate and protein and not very much fat. They have tons of fiber, with a half cup of cooked lentils coming in at around 8 grams.

Like other legumes, you can cook them whole, but they are also great in soups and pureed into sauces. There are three main types. The small green lentil is also known as the French lentil. It has a thin shell and a stronger pea-like flavor. Red and yellow lentils are slightly smaller and not as plump as green lentils. They have a milder flavor. French lentils take a little longer to cook than their red and yellow cousins. More About Lentils

Lentil and Sausage Stew

Servings = 4 | Serving size =about 2 cups stew

Cooking Time = 60 Minutes

This recipe can be multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Makes great leftovers.

2 tsp

olive oil

4 cloves

garlic (minced)

1 large

onion (diced)

3 large

ribs celery (diced)

2 large

carrots (peeled and diced)

1 medium

green bell pepper (diced)

6 ounces

sausage links (sliced thinly)

1 1/4 cups

lentils

1 Tbsp

fresh thyme leaves

2 Tbsp

dried sage

1/2 tsp

salt

fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

3 cups

water

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven or medium stock pot over medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring frequently.

Add the onions and celery. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the carrots, peppers and sausage. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the lentils, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and water. Stir and cover.

Place the pot in the oven and cook for 50 minutes. Stir about every 15 minutes.